


Hope Springs Eternal in the Human Breast

by Podysseus394



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Best Friends, But love these idiots, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, I'm a horrible person, Lots of Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:34:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23058595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Podysseus394/pseuds/Podysseus394
Summary: The Doctor has an encounter with another Family of Blood, and Donna is the only person he trusts to take care of him as he suffers under the Chameleon Arch again. But when the TARDIS drops them in a dire situation, the only thing that could make it worse is if they were married. Oh wait...Title from the poem Essay of Man by Alexander Pope
Relationships: Donna Noble/John Smith, Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor | John Smith & Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor/Donna Noble
Comments: 7
Kudos: 42





	Hope Springs Eternal in the Human Breast

Luminous green bolts lashed angrily against the TARDIS door as the Doctor slammed it shut behind him. He scrambled up to the console and set the old girl in flight, cursing in Gallifreyan when he realised the creatures that had attacked him were in hot pursuit. He panted to catch his breath whilst trying to come up with a plan, but his thoughts were as scattered as the atoms of the kindly matron who had asked him for directions. The TARDIS made a grounding sound in concern as she lowered the all-too-familiar device from the rafters. The Doctor looked up, and his hearts dropped.

“Not again, please,” he begged, even though he was alone in the TARDIS, running his fingers through his hair in distress. “I need time!”

Fortunately, as a Time Lord, time was something over which he had some degree of control. The Doctor realised this fairly quickly and activated a Time Lock around the TARDIS. Hurtling through the void while in the grip of a Time Lock was incredibly dangerous, but it was a temporary measure until he could make some arrangements. He fumbled around in his pockets for the mobile phone Martha had given him the previous year, and his hands shook as he searched for Donna’s name in the contacts.

“Alright Spaceman? You missing me already? I’ve only been gone two hours!” Donna’s jovial voice brought him a feeling of inexplicable relief amid the chaos, even though the phone was now sparking.

“Donna, I need your help and I don’t have much time.” The Doctor spoke hurriedly, wiring the phone into the TARDIS in an attempt to stave off its imminent explosion. Time Locks had that kind of effect.

“What do you need me to do?” Donna’s tone became serious, immediately jumping to action.

“How far away from Chiswick can you get? I don’t want to put your family at risk.”

“I can get to Cancun in just under 12 hours? Is that far enough?” The Doctor heard Sylvia Noble squawking in the background, but he couldn’t care less. If any harm came to Donna’s mother or grandfather, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. And he didn’t think Donna would be able to forgive him either.

“Yes, that should do. I’ll use your phone to home in on you, I’ll see you soon.” The Doctor flipped the phone shut (how very 2008) just before it blew up, released the Time Lock and set course for Cancun Airport.

* * *

The journey had been absolute torture for Donna, and the oppressive heat was doing nothing to help her growing temper. She had already snapped at the man sat next to her for jostling her arm one too many times, and she was ready to scream bloody murder at the woman behind her who kept kicking her seat. She had spent 12 hours stewing over what could be so wrong that she had to fly to a different continent, and she had never heard the Doctor sound so _afraid_. It was a relief to finally get off the aeroplane and onto the tarmac, where the TARDIS was just materialising. She ran in through the open doors and engulfed the Doctor in a tight hug.

“Right, Time Boy, tell me what the hell is going on!” Donna pulled away and put her hands on her hips. She instantly noticed that the Doctor was refusing to look her in the eye, fussing around the controls and setting them into flight. “I’m being chased by creatures that won’t stop until they either inhibit my soul or they die.”

“Oi, the only person allowed to kill you is me, and only when you’re being a pain in the arse,” Donna joked weakly. The Doctor stared back blankly.

“A creature as dangerous as this can’t be allowed to take my essence or they will dominate the further reaches of the universe for millennia,” the Time Lord explained, and by God, he sounded drained.

“So, you know what they are? Do know how to fight them? What can I do?” Donna pressed, unsure as to where she fits into the equation. The Doctor sighed as he pulled down a horrifying-looking contraption from the ceiling.

“I encountered this species back when Martha was travelling with me. The Family of Blood, they were called. But they were scavengers, desperate to survive, and very far from home. This Family is a lot more sophisticated, they’ve already taken over vessels to elongate their lifespan, and they have much more powerful weapons. We barely escaped last time, and far too many lives were lost.” The Doctor seemed to be talking more to himself at this point, so Donna approached him gently.

“Well, we’re in this together, you and me. We’ve been in worse situations and survived, and this time isn’t gonna be different,” Donna spoke softly as she put her hand on his shoulder. He finally stopped foostering around and looked at her with a deep sadness.

“I’m so sorry for what I have to ask of you, Donna. But it all depends on you.”

“Anything, Doctor. Now, will you please tell me what it is I have to do? And what does it have to do with the torture device you’ve got hanging there?”

“That is a Chameleon Arch. I need you to take this watch and protect it because very soon, everything I am will be in it.” He held a burnished copper watch in his hand, and Donna could just about make out a few symbols before the Doctor fixed it into the device. “They didn’t see my face and they don’t know about you, so that will make this a bit easier…”

“Doctor, you’re not making any sense! What does that thing do? How can you be in a watch?”

“It’s designed to alter my biology; it makes me human. Everything remotely ‘alien’ will be stored in this watch, and you’ll have to open it when it’s time. I gave my good watch away last time, so I hope this one will hold…”

“But how will I know when it’s time? Time for what?” Donna asked anxiously, following the Doctor around the console as he started attaching wires to his head.

“I’ve left instructions for you, so you’ll know what to do in every eventuality. The TARDIS will drop us off somewhere and create a plausible backstory for both of us, so you can keep an eye on me. It’ll only be six months until their lifespan expires, even with the new bodies, it’ll fly by. But now you have to promise me that you won’t intervene, any interruptions could ruin the whole process.” He sonicked the console, which sent a jolt rushing through the room.

“Why would I interrupt-” She paused. The only thing that would make her go against the Doctor at a serious time like this was if he was in pain.

“Doctor, rewriting your biology… will it hurt you?” Donna asked quietly, a flicker of dread sparking in her heart.

“Oh yeah,” he stopped to look at her sadly as he finally pulled the Chameleon Arch over his head. “It hurts a lot.” Donna swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She was going to have to stand and watch while the Doctor – _her_ Doctor – was in sickening agony for God knows how long, and she couldn’t do a single thing to stop it. “For the record, whoever came up with that is an idiot,” she chuckled wetly, as the Doctor gave a weak smile.

“I’ll be back before you know it. And thank you.”

Then the screaming started.


End file.
